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Play with children with special needs is the same type of play as children without special needs, but children with special needs may take extra time to develop and understand the different developments that go along with play. This article goes into detail about the different ways a parent can play with children with special needs and the positive effects that play has on their child.

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Why friendship and play are good for children with disability

Play is central to learning and development for all children. Play and friendship help children with disability learn skills and abilities, including social-emotional, communication and physical skills.

Playing with others can help children with disability have fun and feel included, supported and cared for. This can be great for their self-esteem.

How children with disability learn and develop through play with others

Social-emotional skills
Play and friendships help your child learn about sharing, being patient, cooperating, solving problems, working out what other children are feeling and making friends with other children.

If your child finds it hard to understand and manage emotions and this affects their ability to play with others, a psychologist can help.

Communication skills
Some children with disability might use speech, signing, gestures or communication devices. By being with other children, children with disability can learn new ways of talking, listening and communicating. For example, your child can hear and see how other children use words and gestures to say what they want. And your child can practise using words and gestures too. And other children can learn how your child communicates, which can help your child communicate with them.

Stronger communication skills will help your child express themselves, regulate their emotions and behaviour, and feel confident. This can help them make friends more easily.

If your child's disability makes it hard for them to communicate, a speech pathologist might be able to help.

Physical skills
Friendships can encourage your child to join in with fun social physical activities like running, jumping, throwing balls, dancing, climbing or building things. Getting involved in physical play can improve your child's physical fitness and skills, as well as their confidence, self-esteem and sense of belonging.

If your child has a physical disability that makes it hard to be active, a physiotherapist or occupational therapist can help your child find ways to get involved in movement, games and sports with peers.

Practising play with children with disability

You can help your child practise skills for playing well with others through your everyday play and communication together. This includes skills like sharing, taking turns, listening and being sensitive to other children's feelings.

You can do this by being a role model. By listening, sharing, compromising, seeing things from other people's points of view and showing empathy, you show your child positive ways to interact with others. For example, you can say things like, 'Yes, let's do it that way', 'I would like a turn, please' or 'I don't understand what you mean'.

Playing board games or interactive games is a great way to help your child learn to cooperate, share and take turns. For example, if waiting for a turn is something your child needs to practise, you can remind your child to wait by using a wait card or by just holding up your hand. As your child gets better at waiting for turns, you can cut down on the prompts by using a raised finger instead of a raised hand.

And you can read books with your child on play situations or make social stories or drawings of what might happen in the playground or at child care or preschool. It can also help to talk with your child about how to deal with these situations.

Whenever you see your child sharing, taking turns or playing well in any way, you can give your child praise and encouragement. When you tell your child exactly what you liked, your child is more likely to behave that way again. For example, 'It was nice that you gave the ball to Evan when it was his turn'.

Playing with others: making it easier for children with disability

All children have to learn how to play and get along with others. There are a few things you can do to make playing with others easier for children with disability.

Choosing toys and activities
If you're having a playdate for your child, you can help things along by choosing toys and activities that children of diverse abilities will enjoy. It's also a good idea to have some activities that you know your child can do confidently. Children are much more likely to join in when they feel confident.

For younger children, try activities that give them the choice of playing alone, alongside others or together. Some ideas include:

materials for painting and drawing

books, blocks and construction materials like Duplo or Lego

musical instruments

props for imaginative or dramatic play

outside play.

Setting up a play area
If you're inviting children to your house to play, setting up a play area for them can help things go well. A spacious area that's not too crowded works well, as do different spaces and activities so that children can either play together or alone.

Helping out if needed
Sometimes you might need to step in and help your child handle tricky situations. If you can give your child some words that help with understanding feelings, it might help. For example, 'Sally has taken your toy. It looks like you're feeling angry. It's OK to feel angry. Let's see how we can help'.

You can also teach your child some basic questions and sentences to help with play. For example, 'I would like to play with that too', 'Can we try doing this together?' or 'I don't like it when you do that'.

Mixing and matching
It's great for all children, including children with disability, to be with older and younger children, children the same age, and children with and without disability. This can give your child the chance to have a variety of play experiences and develop patience, acceptance and an understanding of diversity.

If play doesn't go to plan

Things probably won't always go according to plan. We don't make friends with everyone we meet or get along with everyone we know. It's normal to worry if your child is ignored or left out or finds it hard to play with others.

Try to make playing with other children as fun, calm and enjoyable as possible.

Note that playing with other children takes physical and emotional energy, so your child might need to spend time alone after a big play session. As your child gets better at playing with other children over time, they'll naturally gain confidence and independence.

If you're worried that your child might be being bullied, read our tips on how to spot the signs of bullying and what you can do about it.

Understanding play

The way your child plays and makes friends will change through early childhood. Children learn different things from play at different ages and stages, including creativity, flexibility and problem-solving. And the more chances your child has to play, the more your child can learn about how to play.

Solitary play is when children play by themselves and don't pay attention to what others are doing. This stage typically goes up to 15-17 months. It can last longer for children with disability.

Parallel play is when children play alongside each other and might use the same or similar toys as those around them. This stage typically starts at 18-24 months, but it can be later for children with disability.

Associative play is when children make and share things, give each other things, or join in with what other children are doing. This typically starts around 3 years, but it might be later for children with disability.

Cooperative play is when children join together to do activities and work together to finish something. It might also be making up rules or playing games with rules. This typically starts happening at 3-4 years, but it might be later for children with disability.

Children with disability might move through these stages more slowly than typically developing children. This can be because their development is delayed or because they haven't had the same play opportunities as typically developing children. For example, a child with a significant motor disability might find it physically difficult to play alongside other children, give things to other children and join in with activities.

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Play and friendship for children with disability

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Play and friendship are good for children with disability. Here's how to help your child with disability play, make friends and build social skills.

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This article helps parents learn more information about how sensory play is important in their children's lives and how it helps them with their cognitive development and understanding of the real world. This article shows different benefits and characteristics of play to help parents see ideas on how to help their children engage in different sensory play with different objects.

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Toddlers absolutely delight in exploring their world through their senses. Sensory play - play that stimulates any of a child's senses - builds cognitive skills and influences how your child learns about their world.

Squish, squelch, spin, splash, squeeze, bang, run, scoop, shake, drop, smear, toss, spray, and ooze - toddlers absolutely delight in exploring their world through their senses. It sounds (and can be!) messy, so you may often be inclined to cut this type of play short. But in fact, sensory play - play that stimulates any of a child's senses - has an important role in a child's health and development. Through it, your child builds cognitive skills and learns about their world.

What is Sensory Play?

In essence, sensory play includes play that engages any of your child's senses. This includes touch, smell, sight, sound and taste. But it also covers movement, balance, and spatial awareness. When a child is born, their senses aren't fully developed. They only mature over time as babies, toddlers, and preschoolers explore the sensory world around them. Each new experience they have with a different sense builds nerve connections that grow the architecture of their brain.

Benefits of Sensory Play for Babies

Babies learn and develop new connections in their brain through play. Sensory play also helps babies to learn more about the world around them and supports language development as they learn to respond to different stimuli. Babies can enjoy simple sensory play such as touching different objects and surfaces and hearing how different materials create varied sounds.

Benefits of Sensory Play for Toddlers

Toddlers are usually developing their thinking abilities and will start trying to do things for themselves. They are learning about concepts, like time and opposites, so activities that compare light and dark, and sorting colours, will encourage toddlers in their exploration.

Benefits of Sensory Play for Preschoolers

Preschoolers will often be exploring more independently and further developing language. Playing with musical instruments, and creating and building different shapes with various objects and materials, will further encourage these developments.

Overall Benefits of Sensory Play

Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. It helps to build nerve connections in the brain and encourages the development of language and motor skills. There are many benefits that may go unnoticed, such as the development of abilities to focus and block out distractions.
Sensory play is an important part of childhood and, within reason, there are really no limits to what you can use in sensory activities. Nature can often be your best friend when it comes to sensory play!

What are the Characteristics of Sensory Play?

The different characteristics of sensory play align to the five common senses, along with two additional senses related to balance and proprioception (the perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body).

1. Tactile Play

This is probably the type of play you're most likely to think of when we talk about sensory play. Any time you see children exploring an object with their hands, they're using tactile play. From tactile play, children can learn about pressure, temperature, vibrations, and so much more.

2. Vestibular Sensory Play

Rolling around, hanging, swinging, and jumping can all contribute to your child's development of balance. This is because the sense of balance and movement comes from the vestibular system, which is located in the inner ear. Getting a child's head into as many different positions as possible helps strengthen the vestibular system by activating various receptors in the ear.

3. Proprioception Sensory Play

Think of how you're able to move your arms and legs freely without needing to look at them. That's thanks to proprioception. Pushing, pulling, and jumping all help your child develop spatial awareness of their body. Through proprioception, children learn where they are physically in space and how their limbs relate to the rest of their body.

4. Auditory Sensory Play

Bang, boom, clash! It might not be your favourite type of play, but auditory play helps your child differentiate sounds and develop their hearing. Give your child a wooden spoon and a saucepan and you'll see how they explore sound through play. Disclaimer: this might not be so kind on your nerves.

5. Visual Sensory Play

The Visual Sensory system is closely connected to the Auditory and Vestibular systems. Visual play helps to develop your child's vision and sight. Think of how your child watches the "airplane spoon" as you fly it into their mouth. Playing with, and identifying, colours and patterns is a fun and engaging way to encourage Visual sensory play.

6. Olfactory and Taste Sensory Play

Olfactory relates to the sense of smell. It is also directly related to taste. It's harder to gauge when a child is using their sense of smell and taste, but obvious examples include when they smell flowers or test the taste of their brand new building blocks. Children can develop these senses through games that encourage the exploration of smell and taste.

Theorists

Jean Piaget is somewhat of a celebrity when it comes to developmental psychology. He was perhaps the first theorist of sensory play, suggesting that there was more to "play" than we understood. His theory of play (also known as developmental stage theory) states that play involves a systematic process of learning that can even be identified by stages. Piaget proposed that children need environmental stimuli and experiences to guide their cognitive development. Through sensory play, he suggested that children digest new knowledge and store it for later reference. In essence, he argued that this type of play was key to a child's brain development.

Play at Only About Children

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Exploring the Benefits of Sensory Play for Children

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Sensory play has an important role in a child's health and development and influences how they learn about their world. Learn more here.

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This article goes into at each age and how the children are acting during that age phase. Another amazing thing about this article is that it has all the developments on here and anyone can click around and explore the different developments and see how different the age ranges are from each development.

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1. Home

2. Child Development

3. Language & Cognitive Development

Please note: All children develop at their own rate. This information should be used as a guide. If you have concerns please talk to your doctor or a public health nurse.
Cognitive Development is learning and processing of information - our thinking and knowing. Cognition involves language, imagination, thinking, reasoning, problem solving and memory. Our cognitive skills help us organize what we know and generalize that knowledge into other areas.

Language Development is learning and processing language through reading, writing and speaking (oral).

Language & Cognitive Development Includes:

Interest in books, reading, and language

Literacy issues

Interest in simple math activities

Numeracy issues

General Sample Questions:
Is your child interested in reading and writing? Can your child count and recognize some numbers?
*Please note: these questions would depend on the age of the child.

Ages & Stages

Find out more about typical development for ages 0 to 5 along with activities you can do with your child and red flags to be aware of.

Recognize and calm down to a familiar gentle voice.

Pay attention to faces

Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance

Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn't change

Recognize pictures of familiar people and things

Point to their toes, eyes, nose when you ask

Follow simple one step directions

Scribbles on his own

Plays simple pretend, such a feeding a doll or stuffed animal

Understands simple questions and directions

Points to different parts of their body when you ask them to

Play make believe or pretend games

Build towers of 4 or more blocks

Can stay with one activity six to seven minutes

Names some colors and some numbers

Draws a person with 2 to 4 body parts

Plays board or card games

Tells you what he thinks is going to happen next in a book

Located at the Sweeney Neighbourhood Centre

33355 Bevan Ave.
Abbotsford, BC V2S 0E7
778-880-8554

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Language & Cognitive Develpment - Abbotsford Early Years

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Home Child Development Language & Cognitive Development Please note: All children develop at their own rate. This information should be used as a guide. If you have concerns please talk to your doctor or a public health nurse. Cognitive Development is learning and processing of information - our thinking and knowing.

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Cognitive and language development is important in play because it helps the children orally communicate and process information. During cognitive development this helps children express their problem solving skills so whenever they are doing a math problem or play a board game this will help children. When children are learning language development this helps children express themselves which also falls into the emotional and social development because they are talking about how they feel and what they are thinking with other people.

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This article goes into detail about different ways a parent can help their children with their physical development. It goes into detail about how children need to have physical play in their lives and it explains different ways to help develop the physical play into their children's lives.

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​L et's get moving: physical development

From kicking and squirming, to holding objects, crawling and standing, the development of fine and gross motor skills starts in the early years.

Fine motor refers to small muscles groups, including hands, wrists, fingers, feet and toes. Gross motor skills are to do with large muscle groups; including the coordination of arms, legs and other large body parts. Your child will also develop hand-eye coordination as they use their vision to control movements and actions of small muscles.

Early physical skills develop through regular movement and activity. Each child will develop physical skills at their own pace and like all areas of development, each individual child will show strengths and abilities in different areas.

Moving, reaching and grasping-putting it all together

Babies will begin reaching and grabbing toys and objects, practicing hand eye coordination, as well as fine and gross motor skills.

Encouraging your child to reach and grasp their toys helps them learn to control their motor skills.

Art and craft activities allow children to practice reaching, moving and placing objects through expressive play, learning about depth and muscle control.

Moulding and manipulating material like playdough allows children to challenge themselves by making new shapes and textures, building fine motor skills.

Simple tasks, like turning the pages of a board book or pressing buttons encourage hand eye coordination and motor skill control.

Don't forget to rest

Remember, as your child is growing, they can get tired from short periods of activity, so rest time is also important.

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early childhood; kindy; physical; development

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​L et's get moving: physical development From kicking and squirming, to holding objects, crawling and standing, the development of fine and gross motor skills starts in the early years. Fine motor refers to small muscles groups, including hands, wrists, fingers, feet and toes.

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Physical development is important in play because it helps children develop their fine motor skills and their gross motor skills. Fine motor skills refer to the childrens small muscles while gross motor skills refer to the childrens larger muscles. Physical development is important in play because it helps children learn hand-eye coordination. During play, children need to focus and pay attention to how to play a game. As children are moving around, this helps them get physical activity during play, and it also helps decrease childhood obesity. Physical play will help children become active and there are many different kinds of activities that children can do that are physical that will help them.

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This article will help families learn more in depth about social and emotional development and different ways to assist in helping their children regulate these developments and use them while playing with others.

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Jennifer Palmer

Beyond the ABCs and 123s

In their first few years of life, young children acquire social and emotional skills, such as regulating emotions, sharing with others and following instructions. These skills lay the foundation for developing literacy, numeracy and other cognitive abilities that are critical for success in school and life.

Healthy social and emotional development is rooted in nurturing and responsive relationships with family members and other caregivers, including those who provide care in early learning settings. Early care and education professionals in child care and preschool classrooms are important partners in supporting social and emotional development and ensuring that the youngest learners are ready for school and on the path to success.

State legislatures often consider policies and resources to support school readiness. Increasingly, legislation to enhance social and emotional well-being in early learners is seen as a crucial component to promoting success in school.

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What Is Social and Emotional Development, and Why Does It Matter?

During their first few years of life, children's brains are rapidly developing, as is their capacity to learn essential social and emotional skills. Social and emotional development in the early years, also referred to as early childhood mental health, refers to children's emerging capacity to:

Experience, regulate and express a range of emotions.

Develop close, satisfying relationships with other children and adults.

Actively explore their environment and learn.

Social and emotional development is influenced by both biology and experiences. Together, genes and experiences shape the architecture of the brain: Genes provide "instructions" for our bodies while experiences affect how and whether the instructions are carried out. Children's early experiences consist of interactions with caregivers-parents, other family members, child care providers and teachers-and their environment. Due to the rapid nature of brain development in early childhood, the quality of early experiences can lay either a strong or weak foundation, which will affect how children react and respond to the world around them for the rest of their life.

For most infants and young children, social and emotional development unfolds in predictable ways. They learn to develop close relationships with caregivers, soothe themselves when they are upset, share and play with others, and listen and follow directions. All these signs indicate positive early social and emotional development.

This is not the story for all children. Among those birth to age 5 who are exposed to biological, relationship-based, or environmental risk factors, at least 10% experience disruptions in their social and emotional development and consequently, mental health problems. For example, children exposed to abuse, neglect or other forms of trauma often respond biologically by producing high levels of cortisol-a stress hormone the body releases to cope with threatening situations. Prolonged periods of high stress in early childhood can cause permanent negative damage to the brain and other developing systems in the body. Children who experience toxic stress, defined as persistent activation of the stress response systems in the absence of a buffering and responsive caregiver, are at risk of poorer social, emotional and physical development. They risk serious mental health problems in childhood and later life.

Who Plays a Role in Supporting Healthy Social and Emotional Development?

Responsive and nurturing caregivers are essential for healthy social and emotional well-being. When parents or other primary caregivers respond to an infant's babbles, cries and gestures with eye contact, touch and words (a process known as " serve and return"), new neural pathways are connected and strengthened. These connections support healthy physical and cognitive development. Positive relationships with a caregiver can also buffer against and reduce the disruptive effects of adversity for young children.

Social and emotional learning extends beyond parent-child relationships. Family, community and culture influence social and relationship norms, values, expectations and language, as well as beliefs and attitudes related to child-rearing. Other nonparental caregivers, family members and professionals also play a role in promoting healthy social and emotional development and treating mental health problems in young children. In addition, pediatricians and other health care providers help parents understand developmental stages, promote appropriate caregiver-child interactions, screen for developmental and behavioral issues, and refer families to additional services and supports.

Over 10 million children under the age of 5 are enrolled in early learning settings such as home- and center-based child care and prekindergarten classrooms. On average, young children spend more than 30 hours with nonparental caregivers in early learning settings each week. This makes the professionals who care for and teach young children important partners in supporting social and emotional development and school readiness.

What do mental health issues look like in young children?

Young children can experience a range of mental health problems that can have a lifelong impact and be as severe as those experienced by adults. Diagnosing mental health problems in young children, however, can be challenging because they process and exhibit emotions differently than older children and adults, and changes in behavior can be temporary. Still, certain behaviors may warrant an evaluation from a mental health professional.
Birth to age 3:

Chronic feeding or sleeping difficulties.

Inconsolable irritability.

Incessant crying with little ability to be consoled.

Becoming extremely upset when left with another adult.

Inability to adapt to new situations.

Easily startled or alarmed by routine events.

Inability to establish relationships with other children or adults.

Excessive hitting, biting or pushing of other children.

Flat effect or very withdrawn behavior.

Ages 3 to 5:

Engages in compulsive activities.

Throws wild, despairing tantrums.

Withdrawn; shows little interest in social interaction.

Displays repeated aggressive or impulsive behavior.

Difficulty playing with others.

Little or no communication; lack of language.

Loss of earlier developmental achievements.

How Is Social and Emotional Development Supported in Early Learning Settings?

Early learning settings are rich with opportunities to build and practice social and emotional skills; however, the quality of these settings affects the degree to which a child's social and emotional development is supported. In high-quality settings, children benefit from " frequent, warm and stimulating" interactions with caregivers who are attentive and able to individualize instruction based on children's needs and strengths. Early educators in high-quality settings are trained in early childhood education and tend to be less controlling and restrictive in their approach to classroom management.

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation

Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) is an evidence-based strategy to support healthy social and emotional development and "prevent, identify, and reduce the impact of mental health problems among young children and their families," according to the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. IECMH consultants help build the capacity of the adults in young children's lives to support healthy social and emotional development at home and in early learning settings. IECMH consultants have master's degrees and are licensed mental health professionals who provide indirect, prevention-based services. They partner with families to assess concerns, assist with implementing positive behavioral supports, and connect families to other services and supports. Within early learning settings, IECMH consultants provide classroom-focused interventions that target all children, home-based interventions for more high-risk children, and referrals for those children who need more specialized services. Additionally, IECMH consultants support early care and education professionals by providing reflective supervision, coaching, training and case consultation.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation emphasizes the field's role in promoting equity and reducing disparities in access to resources and outcomes for young children. Equity, according to SAMHSA's IECMHC Toolbox, is "the quality of being fair, unbiased, and just." Equity is essential to reducing disproportionalities among young children of color in suspensions and expulsions in early learning settings. IECMH consultants partner with early care and education professionals to "reflect on their own experiences, biases, and fears-and then move beyond them to see each young child as an individual within a unique family and community context." There is growing evidence that access to IECMHC reduces the occurrence of suspensions and expulsions for young children.

Licensure and accreditation, well-trained caregivers, low staff-child ratios and parent involvement are generally considered to be fundamental to high-quality care and education. Such elements not only promote strong, secure relationships and positive interactions between caregiver and child, but also improve attention to children's interest, problem-solving, language development, social skills and physical development.

High-quality early learning opportunities can also reduce the risk of children experiencing poor mental health. Research shows it can mitigate the effects of poverty, maternal depression and other risk factors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, high-quality child care helps build resilience among at-risk children, partly due to the relationships they form with caregivers. When children perceive at least one supportive adult in their life, they are less likely to experience toxic stress and suffer the detrimental effects of adverse experiences.

Well-trained early care and education professionals are critical to supporting social and emotional competence in young children. First and foremost, they build nurturing and responsive relationships with the children in their care and model respectful and appropriate behavior. They weave social and emotional skill-building into day-to-day activities and implement targeted curriculum and lessons with books, music, games and group discussions.

Effective early care and education professionals consider and support the individual needs of each child within the context of their family and culture. Head Start, the federally funded, locally implemented birth-to-5 program for low-income children, emphasizes that "children's learning is enhanced when their culture is respected and reflected in all aspects" of an early learning program. Early childhood programs implementing culturally reflective policies and practices may look different depending on the setting, but at their core, they are learner-focused, promote a positive cultural and individual identity, and engage all children from unique cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds. Cultural awareness is key for early care and education professionals in forming strong relationships with children and families.

Early care and education professionals are also critical to identifying children who face barriers to healthy social and emotional development and helping families obtain the support they need. They sometimes partner with an early childhood mental health consultant to address challenging behaviors and develop behavior support plans.

An increasing number of early learning settings are implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) frameworks. The frameworks are designed to equip early care and education professionals with the skills and tools they need to support positive social and emotional development and address challenging behavior. A program-wide PBIS does not prescribe a specific curriculum. Instead, it includes a series of practices, interventions and implementation supports that are available across the system. One such framework, the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (Pyramid Model), is specifically designed for programs serving infants and toddlers. Twenty-five states have established statewide coalitions and leadership teams to implement the Pyramid Model (often housed within a state's human services or education department). The Pyramid Model organizes evidence-based practices into three progressively intensive tiers: universal supports for the wellness of all children, targeted services for those who need more support, and intensive services for those most in need. The model emphasizes how essential early care and education professionals are to the social and emotional well-being of young children by positioning "effective workforce" as the foundation.

How Prepared Are Early Care and Education Professionals to Care for Children With Challenging Behaviors?

Despite the importance of their role, many early care and education professionals report not feeling adequately trained to respond to challenging behaviors or to support children at risk of mental health issues. A national survey of the early care and education workforce revealed just 20% of respondents received training on supporting social and emotional growth in the past year. When asked what types of support would help them better address the needs of children with challenging behavior, professionals in Maine most frequently selected additional training (61%) and greater access to early childhood behavioral specialists (57%). In a similar survey in Virginia, respondents identified access to specialists (63%), additional supports for families (54%) and increased training for staff (52%) as necessary to improving outcomes for children.

Implicit Bias in Early Learning Settings

In a study by researchers at Yale University, early care and education professionals were instructed to look for challenging behaviors in a video of an early learning classroom where none was present. Researchers used technology to track eye movements and found that when challenging behaviors were expected, teachers tended to observe the black children more closely, especially the black boys.

Another component of the study found that when teachers were provided additional information on a child's family and background, and when the teacher's race matched that of the child, teachers tended to lower the severity rating of the child's behavior. Researchers concluded by calling for greater connections between early care and education professionals and parents, as well as increased training to address biases and increase empathy.

Survey participants in both Maine and Virginia were also asked about the effects of challenging behaviors in the classroom. Concerns included the ability to attend to other children and ensuring the safety and ability of other children to learn. Respondents also noted the negative effect challenging behaviors have on their own well-being.

Without adequate training and supports to handle these stressful situations, early care and education professionals-among whom depression is not uncommon-burn out and leave the profession. Extremely low wages further contribute to their stress. At an average annual salary of just over $22,000, nearly half of the early care and education workforce is enrolled in at least one public support program. These include the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Researchers have found that stress negatively affects early care and education professionals' ability to provide positive, high-quality environments and is the primary reason they leave the field. Bringing the problem full circle, high turnover among early care and education professionals disrupts the relationships and attachments formed with the children they care for and is linked to poorer developmental outcomes for early learners.

Furthermore, early care and education professionals who lack training may be unprepared to distinguish concerning behaviors from those that are developmentally appropriate. Misinterpreting or mischaracterizing behaviors may lead to more punitive discipline and failure to provide appropriate supports. Underprepared professionals are more likely to over-identify children, especially children of color, for special education, disciplinary action and expulsions. Suspensions and expulsions are more likely to occur in early learning settings that have high student-adult ratios, private ownership, extended hours, limited access to early childhood behavioral specialists, and teachers who report high levels of stress.

Suspension and expulsion in early learning settings

Data collected in recent years by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has shined a spotlight on how common suspensions and expulsions are in early learning settings. In fact, expulsion rates among preschoolers are three times higher than those of K-12 students. Stark disparities in suspension and expulsion rates among young children based on race and gender led researchers to question the effect of implicit bias, or the "automatic and unconscious stereotypes that drive people to behave and make decisions in certain ways. Black children, who comprise just 19% of preschool enrollment, make up 47% of preschoolers who are suspended. Research shows students of color are more harshly disciplined for the same behaviors exhibited by their white peers. Furthermore, 75% of expelled preschoolers are boys, with black boys being suspended or expelled the most often. The consequences for young children who are suspended or expelled can be significant and long-lasting. The same children are more likely to be suspended or expelled again in later years and to drop out of high school, fail a grade or be incarcerated.

In 2016, U.S. departments of Health and Human Services and Education issued a policy statement and recommendations aimed at preventing and severely limiting suspensions and expulsions of young children. The departments recommended that early learning programs take the following steps:

Improve the workforce's skill set and capacity to support social and emotional development, address challenging behaviors appropriately, and form supportive and nurturing relationships with children and their families.

Provide training to deepen the workforce's understanding of cultures and diversity, practice self-reflective strategies and correct biases.

Increase access to behavioral specialists (including IEMCH consultants).

Promote the health and well-being of the workforce with reasonable work hours, breaks and access to supports, such as social or mental health services.

The policy statement also made recommendations directly to states, including enacting state policies severely limiting the use of suspensions and expulsions across all early learning settings, collecting data on the use of exclusionary discipline and setting goals for its reduction. It also recommended investing in workforce training and implementing policies to increase quality in early learning settings.

How Are State Policymakers Promoting Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Early Learners?

Well-trained and supported early care and education professionals are critical to reducing the occurrence of suspensions and expulsions in the early years, providing high-quality early learning experiences and supporting social and emotional well-being in young children. Below are actions policymakers across the country are taking to help children, families and early care and education professionals acquire the skills and resources they need to thrive.

Investing in targeted training and professional development for early care and education professionals

Most states include social and emotional development in their Early Learning Guidelines for early care and education professionals.

California provides training and coaching on trauma-informed care for in-home child care providers serving children in the foster care system.

Alaska requires programs at levels 4 and 5 in the state's Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) to participate in trainings specific to trauma and adversity.

Vermont's Early Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework includes evidence-based practices and trainings and is embedded in the state's QRIS.

Addressing compensation and workplace conditions in early learning settings

Five states fund wage supplements through the Child Care WAGE$ Program, a stipend available through the Child Care Services Association, in which early care and education professionals are placed on a "salary supplement scale." The scale rewards workers for obtaining higher levels of education and for remaining in the same child care setting. Wisconsin and Georgia have their own wage supplement programs.

Colorado, Louisiana and Nebraska passed legislation to provide tax credits for early care and education professionals who meet certain education or training requirements.

Twenty-two states include salary scales and/or benefits (e.g., paid leave and health insurance) as a quality indicator for center-based child care providers in their QRIS.

Thirteen states include paidtime for professional development as a marker of quality in their state's QRIS for center-based child care providers.

BehaviorHelp in Arkansas

In 2016, Arkansas extended its prohibition of suspension and expulsion in state-funded prekindergarten classrooms to include nearly 1,000 child care providers serving families with child care subsidies.

To support early care and education professionals with implementing the new policy, the state established BehaviorHelp, a program that provides individual support for addressing challenging behaviors in young children. Early care and education professionals, parents and child welfare case workers complete an online form detailing their issue. Behavioral health specialists then follow up with a phone consultation, classroom observation, training related to individual support plans for educators and parents, and referrals to additional services.

Data collected during the program's first two years revealed that over half of the children exhibiting challenging behaviors had experienced difficult or traumatic events, such as abuse or neglect, divorce or parent incarceration. A survey of users found that 81% felt better able to address their concerns because of the support they received from BehaviorHelp. Users also reported a significant decline in the frequency of challenging behaviors.

Improving access to infant and early childhood mental health consultation

Louisiana and North Carolina provide access to early childhood mental health consultants for child care providers through their state's QRIS.

Virginia funds a full-time coordinator to support a comprehensive IECMH system, including a series of trainings and an IECMH endorsement for practitioners.

Connecticut's statewide IECMH program provides universal access to consultants for all early childhood programs in the state.

Early care and education professionals in Arkansas (see text box on page 7) and Ohio can receive individualized consultations from an early childhood behavioral specialist through a hotline. Arizona's Birth to Five hotline is available to parents as well as early care and education professionals.

Reducing suspensions and expulsions in early learning settings

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia limit or prohibit the use of suspensions and expulsions in lower grades, including prekindergarten classrooms.

Legislators in Washington directed its Department of Children, Youth, and Families to develop a five-year strategy to expand training and awareness in trauma identification, provide positive behavior supports in early settings, and reduce the use of exclusionary discipline by 50%.

Colorado's state child care rules require providers to "outline how decisions are made and what steps are taken prior to a suspension, expulsion, or request to withdraw a child from care." The rules further require that child care providers adopt policies to 1) provide individualized social and emotional intervention supports for children who need them, 2) implement a team-based positive behavior support plan aimed at reducing challenging behavior, suspensions and expulsions, and 3) improve access to early childhood mental health consultants.

Learning about the mental health needs of young children

Georgia lawmakers established the Infant and Toddler Social-Emotional Health Study Committee to study the availability of services and make recommendations.

The Oklahoma Legislature established a task force on trauma-informed care to recommend options and strategies for implementing a coordinated approach to preventing trauma in children, as well as interventions for children and families who are at risk of experiencing trauma.

Conclusion | Additional Resources

Early childhood is a critical window of development for learning social and emotional skills. The quality of experiences and relationships during this time can have life-long implications. For children who face barriers to healthy development, the stakes are even higher. Nurturing the social and emotional development of all young children, so they are ready to succeed in school and beyond, depends on strong partnerships between parents and their out-of-home caregivers. State policymakers are taking steps to ensure young children are supported in early learning settings by investing in the training and well-being of the early care and education workforce, restricting the use of suspensions and expulsions, improving access to early childhood mental health specialists, and exploring additional policies to support the mental health needs of young children and their families.

Additional Resources

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national conference of state legislatures

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Jennifer Palmer, Alison May, Lesley Kennedy

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Social and Emotional Development in Early Learning Settings

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Jennifer Palmer In their first few years of life, young children acquire social and emotional skills, such as regulating emotions, sharing with others and following instructions. These skills lay the foundation for developing literacy, numeracy and other cognitive abilities that are critical for success in school and life.

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Emotional development is important during play because the children are experiencing how to develop and express their emotions. During emotional development in play, the children are able to develop relationships and express their emotions, physically and verbally. In preschool ages the children will learn to develop different emotions and once the children are in first grade to second grade they understand the different emotions and how to control them better than before.

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Social development in play is important because it helps the children become interactive with one another. The children can develop different types of social play whether it is with a group of other children or just one. This helps the children build relationships. The children can also develop social development through creative play in the classroom.